Money Moral Dilemma: Should you risk spreading the lurgy to colleagues?

wurley

I employ a nanny to care for my children and she is very reliable... She caught a bug off of my children and had to take time off... I found out you (employer) can only claim back £18.85 a day, that's after the forth day! (she had 4). I couldn't pay her only £18 for a week (sick or other)! ended up giving her a bit more. I can understand why bosses monitor sickness if thats all they can claim back. Blame the government I say!

9 times out of 10 we will catch the bugs from our work place anyway. So I'd go in if I was able to get by on beechams!! (I wonder if the MPs would go in?)

tonycree

go to work...
a lot of firms have a policy where basically as long as you show your face and then go home ill you will be paid your shift.
if not stay and bat it out.
being at home does not pay the mortgage.

fannyadams

If it REALLY is 'flu then you'll be in bed anyway!
it annoys me when I hear people say "Oh I've got 'flu" when what they really have is a bad or heavy cold.:mad:
My old (and now retired) GP used to say "if you can make it downstairs to get the £20 note off your front garden before it blows away, then you haven't got flu, it's just a bad cold"
Although my line manager has been coughing and sneezing over everyone this week:mad: and now my throat feels like someone's sandpapered the inside. but because SHE's been in with her cold I'll feel duty bound to come in when mine develops into something nasty.

jackyh137

MSE_Jenny wrote: »

Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on:

Should you risk spreading the lurgy to colleagues?

You’re battling a nasty flu, but need to go to work because of cash problems (you do freelance shifts and don’t get paid sick leave). You’ll be able to make it through the day with the aid of cough mixture and hankies, but you risk infecting colleagues with the lurgy. You know it’s contagious because your husband was struck down by the same bug last week. Yet you’re in debt and need the money.

Click reply to have your say

Previous MMDs:
Fannie contribute to Mae's council tax?
Would you ask for the tenner back?

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you dont have to be 'freelance' to not get sick pay. many companies only pay sick pay after 3 consecutive sick days and then you have to self certificate!! it encourages you to 'struggle in' and therefore spread your germs to colleagues. ridiculous but true.

sellingmysoul666

If i was freelance i hope i would be earning enough to be off when i was sick or i would take a days holiday
we have temps in our building who come in when sick
we have to have a return to work interview after each sick period after the 3rd in a year it is with the big boss who then sends you to occupation health - the last time i got sent he basicly said i was wasting his time
at the moment 1/2 our room is sick (colds )about 30 people
some of them have already been ill for 3 weeks but havent been off
- i if catch it i will be off as i often get complications - dizzyness due to inner ear problems /chest infections but my immune system is working okay at the moment so fingers crossed
i have worked when ill - but i am a lot slower & make mistakes they are not life threating as i only work in admin but i would rarther take a few days of & recover quicker

sillymoo_2

I'm sorry....its sad that it bothers me I know but flu, is a totally different disease from your common cold, is very serious and makes you feel VERY ill. You may well have NO cold symptoms apart from a sore throat but you will have a significantly raised temperature, severe aches and pains and probably vomiting. Sufferers may well not eat for a good few days and can take weeks to feel totally well again.
There is no way you would be in work with flu - the flu test is that if you were laid in bed and all around you on the floor were strewn £50 notes, if you had flu you wouldn't even get up to get them!!

3plus1

I came down with a really nasty throat infection last month and felt like the living dead. However, as I had some important work on the go, I battled on for just over a week (until it was off my desk, basically!) and then I went on sick leave. Went to see a doctor, began a course of antibiotics and took three days off. I didn't feel 'right' taking off any more time than that - but the result is, I took so much longer to recover that I really should have done. If I'd just taken a full week off, I'd have felt better quicker. When I went back to work, I was able to function (barely!), but I wasn't at my best.

I think the problem is, so many people take sick leave when they're not really sick, that when you do get sick, you don't want to take a lot of time off, if any, because you worry that some people will think you're one of the people who are taking the mickey and you're not really ill. It's a bit sad and it's terribly British...

Money doesn't come into it if you're in employment (ie. not self employed or contracting) and you're not on probation. You'll get paid regardless. It's more a case of 'what will other people think?'

hefferwump

like most i have little choice turn up or be top of the list when the job cuts start

SandC

The thing about Japanese folk and face masks. Well I worked for a Japanese firm and I didn't see anyone use a face mask (though doubtless they do at home). They were quite odd when it came to having a cold though.

They would drape a handkerchief over their phone (to warn others not to use it?) and they wouldn't blow their noses or use said hankie to sneeze into (preferring to leave it draped over the phone). As a consequence of not blowing their nose they would then spend the entire day sniffing. Very irritating.

As I said before, the best thing you can do to help in not spreading it is washing your hands as frequently as possible. No good sneezing into your tissue then going and using door handles without washing your mitts!

Sutclifs

We dont get paid sick pay at work other than Statutory Sick Pay. I had to go home last week and lost £31 of wages for it!

However, I tried to stay in but I felt that I couldn't do my job properly and therefore it would be best if I went home and came back the next day feeling better.

However, if I felt that I could do my job I wouldn't worry to much about my collegues, would just drug myself up and warn 'em off!